Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Lightweight

1. Frankie
Edgar (14-1-1)
After surviving another brutal first round against Gray Maynard on
Oct. 8, Edgar closed out the pair’s trilogy with another
spectacular comeback, knocking out his “Bully” in the fourth round.
Next up for the New Jerseyan is a Feb. 26 UFC title defense in
Japan against former World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Ben
Henderson.

2. Gilbert
Melendez (20-2)
Strikeforce’s lightweight ace turned in another strong performance
on Dec. 17, out-punching American Top Team slugger Jorge Masvidal
across five rounds to retain his 155-pound strap. While all signs
pointed to Melendez’s imminent UFC signing, it was recently
announced that “El Nino” will remain in the hexagon for the time
being.

3. Gray
Maynard (10-1-1, 1 NC)
Since suffering his first career defeat at the hands of Frankie
Edgar in October, there have been no new fight developments for
Maynard, but that’s not to say there haven’t been changes. In
November, it was announced that “The Bully” would leave his
longtime home gym of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas for the American
Kickboxing Academy camp in San Jose, Calif.

4. Ben
Henderson (15-2)
Henderson has looked nothing short of exceptional since
transferring to the UFC, earning dominant unanimous decisions over
Clay Guida, Jim Miller and Mark Bocek. The 27-year-old has
expressed disappointment with his inability to finish in recent
outings, something he’ll have the chance to rectify when he faces
divisional ace Frankie Edgar for the UFC title in Japan on Feb.
26.

5. Shinya Aoki
(30-5, 1 NC)
It was a gruesome sight on New Year’s Eve as Shinya Aoki defended
his Dream lightweight title against former training partner Satoru
Kitaoka. Aoki dominated proceedings both standing and on the feet,
but it was his rear-naked choke attempts as Kitaoka choked on the
blood from his own busted nose that put it over the top. Now, Aoki
will await whatever name opponents he can find in 2012, possibly a
rematch with former Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez.

6. Jim Miller
(20-3)
Miller was on the verge of title contention when he had his
impressive, eight-fight winning streak snapped by former WEC champ
Ben Henderson in August. Now, the hard-nosed New Jerseyan will have
a chance to rebound in a big way, as Miller will face Melvin
Guillard on Jan. 20 in the main event of the UFC’s inaugural show
on cable channel FX.

7. Clay Guida
(29-12)
Once more on the cusp of contention, Guida had his title dreams
busted -- along with his four-fight winning streak -- by Ben
Henderson in a thrilling Nov. 12 three-rounder. The lightweight
stalwart finishes 2011 with a 2-1 mark, having topped Anthony
Pettis and Takanori Gomi.

8. Anthony
Pettis (14-2)
The final lightweight champion of World Extreme Cagefighting lost
out on a UFC title shot when he faltered against Clay Guida in his
Octagon debut, but Pettis surged back in his sophomore outing to
take a split decision against tough vet Jeremy Stephens. Next up
for the Roufusport product: a trip to Japan in February, where
he’ll face submission wiz Joe Lauzon at UFC 144.

9. Michael Chandler (9-0)
Previously unranked Chandler used heavy hands, a granite chin and
his powerful collegiate wrestling base to topple Eddie Alvarez on
Nov. 19, outlasting Bellator’s longtime lightweight ace to score a
shocking fourth-round submission. With six impressive Bellator
victories and a shiny new gold belt, Chandler awaits the winner of
the promotion’s next lightweight tournament in 2012.

10. Nate
Diaz (15-7)
In a critical beatdown, Nate Diaz announced his entry into UFC
lightweight contendership on Dec. 30 with his thrashing of Donald
Cerrone. With a violent, dominant beatdown of “Cowboy” that had the
FightMetric.com staff working overtime, Diaz upped his status
considerably in the UFC’s intense 155-pound race.